1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to box erecting machines and, more particularly, to a box erecting machine that can be readily set up to assemble boxes of different sizes. Specifically, the invention relates to a box erecting machined that is set up by adjusting a plurality of box manipulation stations to correspond with settings on scales located on the machine with the scale settings corresponding to the dimensions of the box to be assembled.
2. Background Information
Essentially all commercial goods travel through commerce enclosed in some type of packaging. Among the most common types of packaging are boxes (also referred to as carton or cases) of a rectangular solid shape and that are typically manufactured of corrugated cardboard. Such boxes are of innumerable shapes and sizes suited to the specific needs of the packaging application. One such type of box is a parallelepiped carton with inward-turned flaps on at least the bottom thereof.
Unassembled parallelepiped cartons are typically cut from a single sheet of material and then formed into a generally tubular configuration having four sides. Each side terminates with a top flap and a bottom flap at opposed ends thereof. The top flaps and bottom flaps are folded inwardly and sealed to form top and bottom sides, respectively. Such boxes are typically shipped from a box manufacturer in a flat configuration as blanks and must be assembled into a three-dimensional box prior to use. Such assembly can be by hand or through the use of a box erecting machine.
The flaps of a box are designated in the art as "major" and "minor" depending on their relative length. For instance, in a parallelepiped box having a length, a width, and a height, with the length and width being unequal, the major flaps arts the two opposed flaps lying adjacent the longer of the length and width, with the minor flaps being the flaps adjacent the shorter of the length and the width. In the parlance of the relevant art, the major flaps are attached to the "major" panels of the box, and the minor flaps are attached to "minor" panels on the box. While many parallelepiped boxes contain bottom-forming flaps and top-forming flaps, some parallelepiped boxes contain only bottom-forming flaps, with the fully assembled box having an open top.
Parallelepiped boxes are assembled by first drawing the unassembled, flat box into a generally tubular rectangular shape. The minor flaps are each folded 90 degrees inward, with the major flaps then being folded 90 degrees inward and over the minor flaps. The flaps may then sealed in place using glue, adhesive tape, gummed tape, or other such materials that are known and understood in the relevant art.
Such operations often are performed by a box erecting machine as part of an assembly line operation. The box erecting machine typically includes a magazine that holds a plurality of box blanks. The blanks are opened in turn into the tubular form and the bottom flaps thereof are then folded to form a bottom. The boxes are then appropriately filled and the top flaps thereof assembled.
In one box erecting machine known in the art, box blanks are loaded into a magazine and are removed in turn from the magazine by a suction catcher. The suction catcher pneumatically attaches to a major panel of the box, pulling the box from the magazine. An unfolding plate then rotates the minor panel that is initially coplanar with the major panel through an angle of approximately 90 degrees, thus opening the box into a generally tubular shape. One of the bottom flaps may be flipped up at this time to being the bottom-closing. A push bar then pushes the box by a minor panel toward the flap folding and taping structures of the machine.
The bottom flaps of a parallelepiped box are often assembled first with the top flaps being left open or unassembled so that the box can be filled within the appropriate contents. After the box has been filled, the final step is to fold and seal the top flaps of the box. The top flaps are sealed in a manner similar to the sealing of the bottom flaps, i.e., folding the minor flaps 90 degrees inward, folding the major flaps 90 degrees inward and over the minor flaps, and then sealing the major flaps in position with glue, adhesive tape, gummed tape, or the like.
Box erecting machines of the type described above are rather complex and expensive machines that are permanently installed in production lines and are typically capable of being set up to assemble boxes of different sizes. The magazines of these machines are adjustable to allow different sized boxes to be loaded into the machine for set up. Such machines typically contain adjustable guide rails that define a feed path. The guides maintain the boxes in a proper orientation as they pass over the folding and taping structures of the machine.
One such type of box erecting machine utilizes a fixed guide rail and an adjustable guide rail with the adjustable guide rail being adjusted to correspond with width of the box being assembled. As is understood in the relevant art, the taping and folding operations occur are destroyed to function when aligned with the center of the box width. When the adjustable guide rail is adjusted to accommodate a box of a different width, the center line of the box where the folding and taping operations occur is correspondingly shifted laterally. Thus, a box erecting machine having a fixed guide rail and an adjustable guide rail additionally contains an adjustment system that permits the box folding and taping structures to move correspondingly with the center line of the box. The box erecting machine also has hold down plates that contact the top of the box to hold it in position. The position of the hold down plates is also adjustable to accommodate boxes of different heights.
One reason for designing machinery to contain a fixed guide rail and a moveable guide rail with correspondingly moveable box folding and taping structures is to permit the boxes, as they are assembled, to travel along a fixed, constant "index" line. Inasmuch as the boxes are assembled for the purpose of carrying goods, the goods must, at some point, be loaded into the boxes. Boxes traveling through a production line along a fixed index line are more easily filled than boxes that are delivered centered along a conveyor system because such centered boxes typically require a longer reach by the individual who loads or the machinery that loads the box. Cartons traveling along a common index line can be filled directly from the index line with minimal reach and minimal wasted effort. Additionally, the use of a common index line for filling boxes expedites the setup of automated machinery used to fill the boxes.
One drawback to the use of such versatile machinery is, however, that the machinery must be painstakingly set up to properly assemble the desired box. When the machinery must be set up to assemble a different sized box, many adjustments must be made to the machine to ensure that the box is properly assembled and so that jamming and other feeding and conveyance problems are obviated. Such setup is time consuming and requires significant effort and results in substantial downtime for the entire production line. The set up is tested by loading box blocks in the magazine and running the machine. An incorrect setting yields a destroyed box that must be discarded.
A need thus exists for a box erecting machine that is capable of assembling boxes of different sizes while being able to set up to assemble a box of a different size with minimal effort and minimal downtime. Such an improved box erecting machine would preferably contain pointers operatively positioned adjacent each of the adjustable structures with each adjustable structure being adjusted until the relevant pointer registers a desired setting on a corresponding scale having graduations related to dimensions or other aspects of the box to be assembled.